An online discussion website such as a message board, or a social media website, provides an online forum where users of the website can hold discussions by posting messages. In message boards, messages posted for a particular topic can be grouped into a thread, often referred to as a conversation thread. A user interface (e.g., a web page) for an online forum can contain a list of threads or topics. Each thread can be expanded to a list of messages, often arranged in a chronological order. Each message typically comprises a text message, a time stamp, and an author identified by a real name or a user name (e.g., for an account of the online forum). In social media websites, users are typically followed by other users and/or select other users to follow. In this context, “follow” means being able to see content posted by the followed user. Users typically select other users to follow based on the identity of the other users, which is provided by the social media platform, e.g., by providing a real name, a user name, and/or a picture.